#57 – The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands

Plot

Several months have passed, and Roland’s two new tet-mates have become proficient gunslingers. Eddie Dean has given up heroin, and Odetta’s two selves have joined, becoming the stronger and more balanced personality of Susannah Dean. But while battling The Pusher in 1977 New York, Roland altered ka by saving the life of Jake Chambers, a boy who—in Roland’s where and when—has already died.

Now Roland and Jake exist in different worlds, but they are joined by the same madness: the paradox of double memories. Roland, Susannah, and Eddie must draw Jake into Mid-World then follow the Path of the Beam all the way to the Dark Tower.

Review

As we go on this journey you will discover that some of these books were difficult to accurately rank. This is the first of those novels. The Waste Lands is an excellent fantasy tale. It brings the band back together (Roland, Eddie, Susannah, and Jake) with compelling dialogue and dynamic scene setting. However, the two biggest drawbacks were the ending and Blaine The Mono.

This book had no ending. It just stops. Specifically, it ends right in the middle of a cliffhanger. And sue me, after nearly 600 pages I expect some resolution. The Waste Lands gives Constant Readers zero. The Waste Lands also gives us one of the most annoying antagonists in Blaine The Mono.

Without giving away too much, Blaine is a sentient train who is now insane and suicidal. But get this – he loves riddles. And the only way Roland and crew can escape is by solving a series of them. The premise is beyond silly, and the execution was dreadful.

There is a universe where I re-read The Dark Tower series and The Waste Lands races up this list. Until then, it resides near the bottom.

Details

Pages: 590

Dates Read: Pre 2012

Quote: “Wow. This makes grand central look like a bus stop in Buttfuck, Nebraska.”

Best Part: One of my favorite Stephen King characters – Oy – is introduced.

Hint for #56: Apple TV premiered a TV show based off this book in June of 2021, starring Julianne Moore.

 

Until next time, peace be the journey.